The long wait will end on Tuesday night as Liverpool embark on their Champions League campaign after a five year absence, welcoming Ludogorets to Anfield.

Bulgarian champions Ludogorets surprised and won over many with their penalty shootout victory over Steaua Bucharest to qualify for the competition proper; stand-in goalkeeper Cosmin Moti scored one and saved two.

Fellow defender Tero Mantyla will unfortunately watch from the stands, having not been selected for the side’s Champions League squad.

The 23-year-old featured prominently during Ludogorets’ Europa League run last season, scoring one goal in eight appearances; these featured high-profile ties against Valencia and Lazio, the perfect primer for the Champions League.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tw4t8pZNfls

We spoke to the Finnish centre-back, about his time in England with Portsmouth, aspirations with Ludogorets and projecting his side’s success in the Champions League this season.

Hi Tero, how are you finding your time with Ludogorets since your move in 2012?

My time here in Bulgaria has been OK overall.

It was literally a step to unknown when I signed here as I didn’t know much about Bulgarian football, but everything has gone well from the first moment.

Finally, what are your hopes for the Champions League and the A Group this season?

For the Champions league we have set the target to finish 3rd in the group and continue to Europa League. Hopefully we’ll do that or better.

For the Bulgarian Championship we want to be champions again. We haven’t started as well as we would have liked, but we are playing better and just few points from the top.

Hopefully by the end of the season we will be first and get the title.

Tero Mantyla is a 23-year-old centre-back, who moved to Ludogorets in 2012. This season the Finnish defender has made four appearances so far. Follow Tero on Twitter here, for his view on Tuesday night’s tie.

What are your predictions for Tuesday night’s Champions League game against Ludogorets at Anfield? Let us know in the comments below.